Bill Text: CA SB1300 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Refineries: turnarounds.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2014-09-20 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 519, Statutes of 2014. [SB1300 Detail]
Download: California-2013-SB1300-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 1300 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 519
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 20, 2014
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 20, 2014
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 29, 2014
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 29, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 29, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 22, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 18, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 18, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 21, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Senator Hancock
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Skinner)
FEBRUARY 21, 2014
An act to add Sections 7872 and 7873 to the Labor Code, relating
to refineries.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1300, Hancock. Refineries: turnarounds.
Existing law, the California Refinery and Chemical Plant Worker
Safety Act of 1990, states that its purpose is to prevent or minimize
the consequences of catastrophic releases of toxic, flammable, or
explosive chemicals. The act provides for the adoption by the
Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board of specified process
safety management standards for, among others, refineries that handle
acutely hazardous material. The act declares the intent of the
Legislature for the standards board and the Division of Occupational
Safety and Health to promote worker safety through implementation of
training and process safety management, as defined, in refineries and
other facilities as deemed appropriate. A violation of the act is a
crime.
This bill would require every petroleum refinery employer to,
every September 15, submit to the division a full schedule for the
following calendar year of planned turnarounds, meaning a planned,
periodic shutdown of a refinery process unit or plant to perform
maintenance, overhaul, and repair operations and to inspect, test,
and replace process materials and equipment, as specified. The bill
would also require a petroleum refinery employer, upon the request of
the division, to provide access onsite and provide the division with
specified documentation relating to a planned turnaround within a
certain period of time, as provided. The bill would, except as
specified, prohibit the division from releasing to the public any
information submitted to the division pursuant to these provisions
that is designated as a trade secret, as defined. The bill would
require the division to notify a petroleum refinery employer in
writing of a request for the release of information to the public
that includes information that the petroleum refinery employer has
notified the division is a trade secret, as provided. The bill would
authorize an employer to seek a court order prohibiting public
disclosure. The bill establishes misdemeanor penalties for knowingly
and willfully disclosing trade secrets.
Because a violation of the bill's requirements would be a crime,
the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 7872 is added to the Labor Code, to read:
7872. (a) As used in this section and in Section 7873,
"turnaround" means a planned, periodic shutdown, total or partial, of
a refinery process unit or plant to perform maintenance, overhaul,
and repair operations and to inspect, test, and replace process
materials and equipment. "Turnaround" does not include unplanned
shutdowns that occur due to emergencies or other unexpected
maintenance matters in a process unit or plant. "Turnaround" also
does not include routine maintenance, where routine maintenance
consists of regular, periodic maintenance on one or more pieces of
equipment at a refinery process unit or plant that may require
shutdown of such equipment.
(b) Every September 15, every petroleum refinery employer shall
submit to the division a full schedule of planned turnarounds for all
affected units for the following calendar year.
(c) At the request of the division, at least 60 days prior to the
shutdown of a process unit or plant as part of a planned turnaround,
a petroleum refinery employer shall provide access onsite and allow
the division to review the following documentation for the process
unit or plant scheduled to be shut down for that turnaround:
(1) All corrosion reports and risk-based inspection reports
generated since the last turnaround.
(2) Process hazard analyses generated since the last turnaround.
(3) Boiler permit schedules.
(4) All management of change records related to repairs, design
modifications, and process changes implemented since the last
turnaround or scheduled to be completed in the planned turnaround
referenced in this subdivision and identified in subdivision (b).
(5) Work orders scheduled to be completed in the planned
turnaround referenced in this subdivision and identified in
subdivision (b).
(6) All temporary repairs made since the last turnaround,
including, but not limited to, clamps and encapsulations. As used in
this section, "temporary repairs" means repairs made to piping
systems in order to restore sufficient integrity to continue safe
operation until permanent repairs can be scheduled.
(7) Notification and description of all repairs, design
modifications, or process changes described in a corrosion report,
risk-based inspection report, process hazard analysis, boiler permit
schedule, management of change record, work order, or other document
listed in paragraphs (1) to (6), inclusive, that the petroleum
refinery employer has deferred to a subsequent operational period or
turnaround.
(d) The division may request additional information as necessary
to perform its responsibilities in this part pursuant to Section
6314.
(e) At the request of the division, at least 30 days before the
shutdown of a process unit or plant as part of a planned turnaround,
a petroleum refinery employer shall provide access onsite and allow
the division to review any changes to the information or documents
reviewed by the division pursuant to subdivision (c) and relevant
supporting documents.
(f) At the division's request, a petroleum refinery employer shall
provide the division with physical copies, or, at the division's
discretion, electronic copies if available, of the documentation
reviewed by the division pursuant to subdivisions (c), (d), and (e).
(g) By agreement with a petroleum refinery employer, the division
may modify the reporting period as to any individual item of
information.
(h) This section is not intended to limit or increase the division'
s authority in Part 1 (commencing with Section 6300) to prohibit use
of a place of employment, machine, device, apparatus, or equipment or
any part thereof that constitutes an imminent hazard to employees.
(i) The Legislature finds and declares that the purpose of this
section is to improve the ability of the state to conduct inspections
of petroleum refining operations.
SEC. 2. Section 7873 is added to the Labor Code, to read:
7873. (a) As used in this section, "trade secret" means a trade
secret as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 6254.7 of the
Government Code or Section 1061 of the Evidence Code, and shall
include the schedule submitted to the division pursuant to
subdivision (b) of Section 7872 of this code, and the scheduling,
duration, layout, configuration, and type of work to be performed
during a turnaround. Upon completion of a turnaround, the scheduling
and duration of that turnaround shall no longer be considered a trade
secret. The wages, hours, benefits, job classifications, and
training standards for employees performing work for petroleum
refinery employers is not a trade secret.
(b) (1) If a petroleum refinery employer believes that information
submitted to the division pursuant to Section 7872 may involve the
release of a trade secret, the petroleum refinery employer shall
nevertheless provide this information to the division. The petroleum
refinery employer may, at the time of submission, identify all or a
portion of the information submitted to the division as trade secret
and, to the extent feasible, segregate records designated as trade
secret from the other records.
(2) Subject to subdivisions (c), (d), and (e), the division shall
not release to the public any information designated as a trade
secret by the petroleum refinery employer pursuant to paragraph (1).
(c) (1) Upon the receipt of a request for the release of
information to the public that includes information that the
petroleum refinery employer has notified the division is a trade
secret pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b), the division
shall notify the petroleum refinery employer in writing of the
request by certified mail, return receipt requested.
(2) The division shall release the requested information to the
public, unless both of the following occur:
(A) Within 30 days of receipt of the notice of the request for
information, the refinery petroleum employer files an action in an
appropriate court for a declaratory judgment that the information is
subject to protection under subdivision (b) and promptly notifies the
division of that action.
(B) Within 120 days of receipt of the notice of the request for
information, the refinery petroleum employer obtains an order
prohibiting disclosure of the information to the public and promptly
notifies the division of that action.
(3) This subdivision shall not be construed to allow a petroleum
refinery employer to refuse to disclose the information required
pursuant to this section to the division.
(d) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (c), any information
that has been designated as a trade secret by a petroleum refinery
employer shall not be released to any member of the public, except
that such information may be disclosed to other officers or employees
of the division when relevant in any proceeding of the division.
(2) If the person requesting the release of the information or the
petroleum refinery employer files an action to order or prohibit
disclosure of trade secret information, the person instituting the
proceeding shall name the person or the petroleum refinery employer
as a real party in interest.
(A) The petroleum refinery employer filing an action pursuant to
paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) shall provide notice of the action
to the person requesting the release of the information at the same
time that the defendant in the action is served.
(B) The person filing an action to compel the release of
information that includes information that the petroleum refinery
employer has notified the division is a trade secret pursuant to
paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) shall provide notice of the action
to the petroleum refinery employer that submitted the information at
the same time that the defendant in the action is served.
(3) The court shall award costs and reasonable attorneys' fees to
the party that prevails in litigation filed pursuant to this section.
The public agency shall not bear the court costs for any party named
in litigation filed pursuant to this section.
(e) This section shall not be construed to prohibit the exchange
of trade secrets between local, state, or federal public agencies or
state officials when those trade secrets are relevant and reasonably
necessary to the exercise of their authority.
(f) An officer or employee of the division who, by virtue of that
employment or official position, has possession of, or has access to,
trade secret information, and who, knowing that disclosure of the
information to the general public is prohibited by this section,
knowingly and willfully discloses the information in any manner to a
person he or she knows is not entitled to receive it, is guilty of a
misdemeanor. A contractor with the division and an employee of the
contractor, who has been furnished information as authorized by this
section, shall be considered an employee of the division for purposes
of this section.
SEC. 3. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.
